Short Summary

United States and French delegations gathered at Le Bourget airport, in Paris, France on Saturday (4 June) to lay wreaths commemorating the 50th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's epic solo flight across the Atlantic.

Description

United States and French delegations gathered at Le Bourget airport, in Paris, France on Saturday (4 June) to lay wreaths commemorating the 50th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's epic solo flight across the Atlantic. Among the official guests were the late airman's widow, Mrs. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and his son, Scott. Lindbergh's famous single-motor aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis, touched down at Le Bourget on May 21, 1927, having flown 3,610 miles (5,8000 kms) and 33 1/2 hours after it had lifted off a muddy airfield at Long Island in New York.

SYNOPSIS: The Ceremony took place during the Paris International Air Show. A half century of aviation progress was revealed in the immense and gleaming sky monsters of today, all of which would dwarf Lindbergh's tiny silver bird, which now sits in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington.

Scott Lindbergh, nearest camera, and other officials bore wreaths that commemorated the most acclaimed feat in aviation history. Lindbergh had not been the first to attempt the trans-Atlantic flight but he want into history because he was the first to achieve it . When he arrived here thousands turned out to applaud the courage of the young stranger drifting down from the darkness.

Mrs. Lindbergh said the ceremony had moved her as a sign of the immense affection the French still had for her husband.

Mrs. Lindbergh echoed the widespread sentiment that the Spirit of St. Louis flight marked an era for the whole world of aviation -- it opened the path for the intricate web of international air routes that now cover the globe. Every aircraft that nowadays flies between one continent and another is a memorial to Lindbergh, the man who showed that metal wings could soar across oceans. He died in 1974, but his memory lives on.